An important goal of the Menta Academy Midway program is to provide students with the tools necessary to function independently. The learning environment in our classrooms are carefully designed to decrease student dependence on the teacher and to encourage the development of skills that will lead to a productive and satisfying life. The program emphasizes building independence through individualization and planning, by understanding the whole child and developing effective and comprehensive programming to meet each child’s unique needs.

Providing Programming for children with disablities who are english and non-english speaking. Focusing on the whole child in the child’s native language.

Like other Menta programs, the Menta Academy Midway program utilizes a collaborative and data-based problem-solving process to identify students in need of additional interventions, develop appropriate interventions, and progress monitor student response to interventions. The problem-solving process uses a functional behavior approach to understanding student behavior and developing function-based interventions in behavior plans. Functional behavior assessment is another evidence-based practice that is at the heart of ABA. Problem-solving teams include BCBA’s who provide consultation on data collection, data analysis, and intervention planning.

Learning environments in the classrooms thoughtfully integrate specific evidence-based strategies from the Structured Teaching Model developed by Division TEACCH, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill.• Physical Structure: Our educators carefully structure physical aspects of the classroom to meet the students’ needs for optimal success, arranging the room to fit the child rather than trying to make the child fit the room.

• Visual Schedules: Individualized visual schedules use objects, photographs, icons, or written words to communicate to the student where he or she should be and in what sequence.
• Work Systems: A visual work system organizes the activities that a student will complete in a specific location and provide visual organization to support student independence.
• Communication Systems: Many students with disabilities have difficulty in effectively communicating. Individualized communication systems are used to teach functional communicative behaviors helping students negotiate their world, regulate their behavior, and interact with others.
• Sensory Supports: A variety of sensory supports are available both inside the classroom and in sensory rooms outside the classroom to increase student’s awareness and decrease sensitivity to sensory input.